Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Cost-effectiveness of second-line treatment with irinotecan or infusional 5-fluorouracil in metastatic colorectal cancer.
It has been shown that irinotecan is superior to infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in patients with advanced colorectal cancer after 5-FU failure. In a recent trial, median survival was 10.8 months for patients treated with irinotecan, compared to 8.5 months in patients receiving infusional 5-FU. Considering the statistically significant but clinically relatively small advantage of irinotecan over 5-FU, cost effectiveness should also be part of treatment decision. ⋯ The least expensive management for metastatic colorectal was 5-FU infusion but the additional cost of irinotecan was balanced by the added months of survival, with a cost-effectiveness ratio close to that of other cancer treatments.